Parker Lifts Nashville Sternwheeler Docks

Parker Towing Company’s Nashville Marine Terminal played a part earlier this year in a project cargo lift that will support Nashville, Tenn.’s two new excursion boats.

Nashville Riverboats, a subsidiary of Tampa, Fla.-based Manthey Hospitality, christened the sternwheel paddleboat Capitol on May 13, with the boat’s “godmother,” Capt. Joy Manthey, performing traditional bottle-breaking duties but using a bottle of Tennessee whiskey instead of champagne to do the honors. The vessel, built in 1988 at Walker Boat Yard in Paducah, Ky., formerly operated as the Spirit of Peoria.

Later this year, the Nashville, an authentic steamboat, is expected to join its sister ship after traveling upriver from Steiner Construction’s yard in Bayou Le Batre, Ala. The Nashville was built in 1971 and formerly known as the Julia Belle Swain. Two diesel engines have been added to work in combination with the historic vessel’s 1915 steam engines.

The vessels will offer dining and sightseeing cruises along with private charters and events and are being advertised as the city’s newest family-friendly attractions.

“From the calliope whistles to live music on deck, every cruise is a celebration of the city’s rhythm, heritage and hospitality,” the Nashville Riverboat Cruises homepage says in welcoming guests. “Every turn of the wheel carries over a century of riverboat history.”

The historic vessels needed a safe and accessible new home on the downtown Nashville riverfront, and Nashville Riverboats chose Parker Towing to help prepare it. The terminal’s Liebherr 1250 crane lifted the two 8-foot by 40-foot barges that were joined to create the boats’ landing facility. Each barge weighs more than 22,000 pounds and made the trip to Nashville from Tampa.

Josh Berry, regional operations manager for Parker Towing, said the crane carefully lifted each barge from a truck and into the air before depositing it into the Cumberland River, where it could be floated into place downriver.

The project was one of the more unique opportunities for the terminal at Cumberland River Mile 164 in Ashland City, Tenn. Parker Towing broke ground on the terminal in September 2022, and it unloaded its first cargo in July 2023. It is the closest general cargo dock to Nashville.

Will Sledge, director of ports and terminals for Parker Towing, said Nashville Marine Terminal has worked closely with customers to transload everything from barges to equipment to small towboats. It has been a success for the company, with employment increasing from three initially to seven now, he said.

The terminal offers a general cargo dock and 25,000 square feet of warehouse space along with an overhead crane and 10 acres of laydown yard for bulk products and steel plate storage. It also has additional space for future expansion.

While the 275-ton Liebherr 1250 worked perfectly in lifting the Nashville Riverboat barges, it is more often put to use handling heavy steel coils or unloading steel plate.

Manthey Hospitality President and CEO Troy Manthey praised the work of Parker Towing in helping to prepare the way for the excursion boats to open for business in Nashville.

“Parker Towing’s Nashville Marine Terminal was instrumental in supporting Nashville Riverboats, with sectional dock barge unloading for our new operation in Nashville,” he said. “It was a pleasure dealing with the team at Parker. They handled the lift with the utmost safety and professionalism!”

Manthey said that the terminal has become an important resource for the Nashville area, adding, “We look forward to working with Parker’s terminal in the future for more barge and small vessel lifts.”